Newbie with some questions

[Sperb]

Evening All,
We just purchased an '04 Surveyor 261T and I have a few questions. My TV is a Ram 2500 which is so tall that even w/ my WD hitch all the way down, my Surveyor still sits at an upright angle when being towed. Does anyone know where I can find a ball mount (WD style) that's got a lower drop. My Reese ball mount drops about 6". Also, has anyone ever lifted a TT. I've lifted about six or seven Jeeps that I've owned, but never a camper. Any suggestions? Also, if I plan to install anything on the interior walls (hooks, book shelves for the kids bunks, etc) what is a good rule of thumb for the wall depth of my TT? I'd hate to poke a hollow wall anchor out the side of our new camper. Look forward to all opinions. This site looks awesome!!

[Grand Surveyor]

Welcome! I have a Grand Surveyor GS272 and it also sits low but the WD setup I transferred to the F250 worked out. Although I didn't need one I noticed extended drop bars for WD setups at a local hitch shop. Might check your area shops for that. You can lift the camper with Forest River kits which I am considering. A high volume dealer with a good maintenance shop can set you up. I can't help on the bookshelves & hooks other than try the removeable stick-on hooks for light duty stuff.

Have a bucket-o-fun with the TT!

[Sperb]

Thanks Grand Surveyor. I did look for another WD shank and found a bunch that had lower drops. I don't know why the one in the WD set had such a minimal drop. You'd think there were more people w/ taller and taller trucks nowadays. Let me know how the TT lift works. It's something I might buy or actually just do myself.

[aintgotnun]

Welcome to FRF!!

Sounds like you got some good advise already. I have a friend with a Dodge 4x4 that had to lift his 5'er 4 inches to make it work. Had to flip the axles and put a simple block kit with extended U-bolts on it.

[NDJollyMon]

Yea...welcome! I love those 3M sticky hooks for hanging stuff. They come right off with no damage when you need them to.

[gregm59]

Congrats! I love the 3M sticky hooks, too. I did notice on one of them, it was actually pulling the wallpaper away. It was overloaded, of course. I have since trained the family to limit what is put on the smaller ones. We'll see how long that lasts!

[wildwood]

We have tried to use them, but had some just pull away from the wall, no wall damge but they just didnt stick. we will be drilling small hole and using mechanical fasterners for some things, unfortunately

[Sperb]

My FR Surveyor does not have leaf springs. It has rubber torsion axles which came as a suprise to my local high volume dealer/service shop. Did I get one that had the axles swapped out for some reason? Nevertheless, my axle tubes are hard mounted to the TT frame and the rubber torsion inserts actually do the moving. It looks like I can unbolt the axle tubes from the frame, lift the TT from the axles, insert some 2x2 or 2x4 square tubing, do some welding, and bolt the axle tubes back on to the new metal. Sounds like a piece of cake, right?

[rockwood06]

The axle are bolted on, two bolts on each side. The axle will come right off when the bolts are removed... A piece of cake! When it is time to reinstall the axle, make sure you are square, other wise the axle will ride on an angle and distroy your tires and it will effect your bearings. You will notice that the mounting holes are sloted for adjustments.

[rockwood06]

By the way, I suggest using a floor jack to remove and reinstall the axle, the axle is heavy to hold up in place. I replaced my axle by my self, I had no one to help. This was the best way to do it. Good luck!

[Sperb]

Thanks Rockwood 06.